2 For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven,
Verses 2-4 describe the believer’s anticipation of his resurrection body. In their suffering, the gospel team groaned for a permanent, heavenly home after death.
2 For
The “for” explains the present period while we still have a temporal body with all its problems.
in this [current physical body] we groan,
While on earth, the believer groans in his physical body. We “groan” in this body of suffering. The groaning here is not despairing or mournful. It is only the period whereby we earnestly wait for a better body (Ro 8:23). The emphasis is on longing in the present, not where we will be between death and the resurrection.
earnestly desiring [yearns]
The believer eagerly anticipates his future. He not only desires but earnestly yearns for a resurrection body. He knows what is ahead because of what Christ has done for him. He has an intense desire to be with Christ, with a physical yet immortal body (which will not happen until the Rapture).
to be clothed [to be covered over with the resurrection body]
The Greek word for “clothed” means to be covered over. The idea is to put on an additional garment. There will be a transformation of the body when Christ comes back. Christians will instantly be transformed to receive their glorified bodies (1 Co 15:41; Php 3:21).
The phrase here is a double compound verb, which stresses the continuity between leaving the earthly body for the heavenly body. At the Rapture, the transition is smooth from the earthly to the heavenly body.
“Clothed upon” is the transformation into the resurrection body and life. This will happen when Christ comes again. Paul and his team would rather be Raptured than die. The Rapture is an imminent event; it could happen at any time (1 Co 15:51, 52; 1 Th 4:16-18).
with our habitation [dwelling] which is from heaven,
The clothing process is when the Christian takes on his new body in eternity (1 Co 15:50-54). Our “habitation” in heaven will be immortal and imperishable bodies (Php 3:21; 1 Pe 1:3-5). This is the believer’s resurrection bodily life in the eternal age to come.
The usual practice is to remove clothes we wear before putting on new clothing. However, the image here is of putting on second clothing over the first set, without removing them. It is like putting an overcoat over a suit. This is the point where the believer will no longer be “unclothed.” The first set of clothing represents our present life and the second set our future, immortal body.
When the Christian dies, he will be without a body for a time; nevertheless, he is “with the Lord” (2 Co 5:8). The Bible gives us no specifics about the condition of the believer’s body between death and the resurrection body or glorified body.
PRINCIPLE:
Death is no bleak, black, barren terminus of existence for Christians.
APPLICATION:
Paul penned Romans 8:17-27 shortly after writing to Corinth, the church to whom he wrote 2 Corinthians. Romans 8 sheds further light on our understanding of 2 Corinthians 5. Suffering is preliminary to eternal glory (2 Co 4:17). Hope and assurance are central to both passages (2 Co 5:5). “Groaning” appears in our chapter and Romans 8:23, 26. Both passages show the tension between suffering and hope. The Christian does not groan from fear or doubt. He is not apprehensive about his mortality. Death to him is a “departure” (2 Ti 4:6). The Christian goes somewhere at death. Death is no bleak, barren terminus of existence for the believer but vibrant life with God.
Many Christians tend to live in the immediate present, with little hope for the future. They are tethered to time. They project very few thoughts upward. The circumstances of a given day imprison them. This is the thralldom of things seen. Their temporary joy of things seen soon vanishes away. Yet, Christians have a glorious prospect ahead—they will be with their Lord. He is the wonderful future of the Christian. Those without Christ have nothing but the dreadful prospect of death. The grave as a destination is mightily different than eternity with our Lord.
with our habitation [dwelling] which is from heaven,
Since the bodies of believers are from heaven, why don’t believers get them while their souls are in heaven already?
Also, does this mean that God will put bodies that are made in heaven in the grave so they can be resurrected?
This all seems pretty strange.
David, I do not know what you mean by “the bodies of believers are from heaven.” The bodies in that reference means a new body that the believer will receive after he dies.
We do know that after we die we will receive a transformed body that is similar to the resurrected body of Jesus (Phil 3:21). Also, read my commentary on 1 Corinthians 15, which deals with this subject extensively.
I mean that believers’ new bodies will be made of heavenly material. They will not be made of earthly material as 1 Cor.15:47-49 indicates.
47 The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. 48 As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. 49 Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven.
Therefore, since believers’ bodies will not be made of the dust of the earth but will be made of heavenly material, why are we waiting for the resurrection? And why would God put a glorious, spiritual body in the tombs? It just seems so pointless. They should get those heavenly made bodies when their souls enter heaven. If souls do not need to wait to enter heaven, why do we have to wait to get our eternal bodies?
David, the believer will not receive his glorified body until he or she goes to be with Jesus. See my two studies on Philippians 3:21 beginning here: https://versebyversecommentary.com/1996/02/11/philippians-321/
You didn’t address the concerns that I raised. Not at all. Read what I wrote again for goodness sake.
David, if I understand you right, you appear to think that Christians will receive their heavenly body while on earth, before they go to heaven. If that is the case, there is no evidence for that whatsoever, and my response to you was on target.
No, you still don’t understand what I am saying. I am asking you what kind of body will believers be resurrected with at the moment of resurrection.
John 5:28-29
28 “Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice 29 and come out—those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned.
As I stated before, I believe they will be clothed with their eternal, heavenly-made, glorious bodies like Jesus was. I think the bodies in the ground will remain in the ground. Believers will get brand-new bodies at the resurrection. It’s like a seed that dies in the ground. A new life form emerges, but the seed remains dead and it stays behind in the ground. (What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. 37 When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else.)
Or as this Scripture states. 1 Cor. 15:47 The first man was from the earth, earthly; the second man, from heaven. 48 As was the earthly one, so also are the earthly, and as is the heavenly one, so also are the heavenly. 49 Just as we have borne the image of the earthly one, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly one.
And since I believe believers will get heavenly bodies that will be of HEAVENLY ORIGIN (NOT EARTHLY ORIGIN), I am wondering why they don’t get those “heavenly bodies” when their souls enter heaven after death. Why do believers’ souls RISE UP but their heavenly made bodies don’t RISE UP at the same time?
David, the problem has been in the ambiguity of your question. It was not clear that you were asking about what happens to the believer’s body at the moment of resurrection. In that case, my answer is the same. At the moment of physical resurrection (and I believe it is at the Rapture), the believer will have a transformed body similar to the resurrected body of Jesus (Php 3:21). First Thessalonians 4 says at the Rapture, the dead bodies of believers (not their souls) will be raised from the grave, then those who are alive at the Rapture will be caught up together with “them” (the bodies of believers raised from the grave) to meet Jesus in the air. The soul of the believer of those who died would have gone instantaneously, and momentarily into the presence of the Lord at the moment of their death (2 Co 5:8).
Okay, now that you finally understand my question which I don’t think was ever ambiguous, I will go back to my original question.
Since the resurrected bodies of believers will be — from heaven, why don’t believers get them while their souls are in heaven already?
This is what 2 Cor. 5:6 clearly states: “earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is — from heaven,”
As I stated in another comment, their bodies will be made of heavenly material. They won’t actually be made of earthly material. So why do believers have to wait? Why do their souls go to heaven, but they don’t receive their immortal bodies instantaneously?
You still haven’t answered this question. And it is a very simple question. It’s not ambiguous.
I meant 2 Corinthians 5:2 not 5:6.
I was looking at verse 6 which is another unusual verse that I want to ask about next time.
David,
The ambiguity from my point of view is that your premises carried unestablished assertions and I did not know to which you referred.
There is a debate among exegetes and expositors about Second Corinthians 5. Some people assert that this passage is dealing with a transition between the earthly body and the glorified body and that this passage teaches that the believer will receive an intermediate body (a body of transition between the two earthly and resurrection bodies). “Found naked” is to be a soul without a body. I used to believe the later hypothesis but have since concluded that there is no evidence for that theory.
Those who struggle with this passage come at it from a couple of postulates: 1) Dead believers are without a body while awaiting their resurrection bodies, and 2) dead believers receive an intermediate body that will differ from their resurrection bodies. According to the latter view Paul hoped to live until the return of Christ so that he would not experience the intermediate state. However, Paul had only one condition in view in the immediate context (2 Co 4:16), the temporal and eternal. Why introduce a third hypothesis in chapter 5? It appears from 5:4 “unclothed” describes mortality while “clothed” describes immortality with no intervening stage.
Paul’s groaning was while he was still alive on earth. He looked forward to an immortal, imperishable spiritual body. His present life was like nakedness, which carried humiliation. He knew that God would not abandon him in death. Paul then asserts his certainty of resurrection (5:1) and longed to be alive when Jesus returned so he could go directly into his resurrected state without experiencing death.
Your answer was very interesting.
Paul’s groaning was while he was still alive on earth. He looked forward to an immortal, imperishable spiritual body. His present life was like nakedness, which carried humiliation.
I never really noticed this part before!
4 For while we are “IN THIS TENT” we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be UNCLOTHED.
I never thought of being in our present bot body as being NAKED, but that is what verse 4 says very clearly.
So I have another question. If believers souls go to heaven, then we WOULD be FOUND NAKED. Even MORE NAKED than in our earthly bodies.
What do you think about that?
David,
The statement “because we do not wish to be unclothed but clothed over” does not mean that he recoils at the prospect of being disembodied or consigned to some incomplete, interim state where he must wait for the Rapture before receiving his resurrection body—his ultimate clothing. His point in 5:8 that being away from the body is physical death. That is a time when he will be present with the Lord, a state where he would not have aversion.
The idea is Paul expresses the natural reaction to experiencing death itself. The metaphor “unclothed” simply refers to death. The aorist tense is point action, at the point of death he would experience temporary physical separation of this earthly body from his eternal soul, the experience of physical death is a natural fear. Paul experienced many close encounters with death in his ministry (2 Co 4:11, immediate context). He did not have a death wish yet he was earnest about looking for his eternal state of an immortal soul and body.
And so back to my original questions which you still have not answered! Can you answer them this time?
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with our habitation [dwelling] which is from heaven,
1) Since the bodies of believers are — from heaven, why don’t believers get them while their souls are in heaven already?
2) Also, does this mean that God will put bodies that are made in heaven in the grave so they can be resurrected?
Yes, I know God is not going to literally transport these heavenly-made bodies across the universe.
This will all happen in a miraculous microsecond! They are not going to be Fed-Exed. – – lol
David,
As I mentioned before, the problem is with your premise. You have misunderstood the argument of the passage. I gave you the benefit of the doubt that you were not saying that a person receives his body from heaven while on earth. However, evidently, that is what you indeed meant.
The word “desire” connotes something future, not what has happened. The thought is “yearning.” Paul yearns for something future. Paul is in an active state of yearning, present, active, participle. It is not something he already has. He yearns for his future body from heaven.
To “put on” is aorist, middle, infinitive. His desire is to one day at one point “put on” or be clothed with his immortal body. It is NOT something he had while he was on earth. The infinitive is a statement of purpose. Paul expresses a purpose to one day put on or be clothed with an incorruptible, immortal body.
“Dwelling” simply means habitation or place of residence. The idea is our future place of residence in our glorified body.
The “from” in “from heaven” is εκ, from or of or out from. When the believer receives his glorified body he will receive it from heaven, from God.
2 Cor 5:2 is an outflow from 5:1, which talked about the death of the body in this life and what happens when one goes to be with the Lord when he gets his immortal body. Context is king!!
David,
As I mentioned before, the problem is with your premise. You have misunderstood the argument of the passage. I gave you the benefit of the doubt that you were not saying that a person receives his body from heaven while on earth. However, evidently, that is what you indeed meant.
So you are saying that believers will not receive the new glorified body while on earth?
What do you mean? Christ will return to earth, and at his command, believers in their tombs will hear his voice and rise from the dead with their new glorified bodies. This will happen on earth. And then, we will meet the Lord in the air. The Rapture takes place on earth. I don’t understand what in the world you are saying.
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2 Cor 5:2 is an outflow from 5:1, which talked about the death of the body in this life and what happens when one goes to be with the Lord when he gets his immortal body.
Again, what do you mean? We will have our new bodies when we meet the Lord in the AIR, not in heaven.
1 Thess. 4:17
Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.
I am anxious to see how you respond to the comments above. Because I think you are “tripping out.”
David,
As I mentioned before, the problem is with your premise. You have misunderstood the argument of the passage. I gave you the benefit of the doubt that you were not saying that a person receives his body from heaven while on earth. However, evidently, that is what you indeed meant.
So you are saying that believers will not receive the new glorified body while on earth?
What do you mean? Christ will return to earth, and at his command, believers in their tombs will hear his voice and rise from the dead with their new glorified bodies. This will happen on earth. And then, we will meet the Lord in the air. The Rapture takes place on earth. I don’t understand what in the world you are saying.
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2 Cor 5:2 is an outflow from 5:1, which talked about the death of the body in this life and what happens when one goes to be with the Lord when he gets his immortal body.
Again, what do you mean? We will have our new bodies when we meet the Lord in the AIR, not in heaven.
1 Thess. 4:17
Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord
David, it is amazing how you misunderstand what I have said.
The physically dead in Christ will rise first. The dead saints will in no way be inferior to those alive at the Rapture. They will rise physically first, their glorified bodies will join with their glorified spirits to make them into the image of Christ, as the apostle John wrote: “We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is” (1 John 3:2). Those who were in Christ in life will be so in death; death cannot separate believers from God (Rom. 8:38): “therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s” (Rom. 14:8). The believer receives the new body at the “shout” of the Lord. Then those risen from the dead and those alive when Christ returns at the rapture will meet the Lord in the air. In the twinkling of the eye, the Lord takes the church to heaven.